Photo: Olga Pysarenko

Young athletes from the cities of Bucha, Irpin and Chernihiv, which were affected by Russia's full-scale invasion, spent almost a month of intensive training in the Austrian Alps. The 12th Olympic Dreams camp ended with a gala event at the Embassy of Ukraine in Austria on 28 June, dedicated to the Constitution Day of Ukraine.

“Supporting Ukraine's Olympic reserve, creating conditions for athletes to train despite the destroyed sports infrastructure for new victories of Ukrainian sport is an extremely important task,” said Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic of Austria Vasyl Khymynets. “We congratulate the Olympic Dreams project on its mission and thank the numerous Austrian partners who made the camp a success.” 

Anatoliy Boyko, initiator and philanthropist of the Olympic Dreams project, and Vasyl Khymynets, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic of Austria
Photo: Olga Pysarenko

During their stay at the camp, about 60 young athletes improved their skills in 5 sports – judo, wrestling, basketball, volleyball and table tennis. The camp organisers provided not only comfortable training conditions, but also a diverse cultural and educational programme for the Ukrainian young athletes. 

 Ingo Ortner, representative of UA civile aid Koetschach-Mauthen, Dr. Eliette Thurn Valsassina-Zeiler, Präsidentin der Soroptimist International Austria, and Oleksandra Novikova, CEO of the Olympic Dreams project
Photo: Olga Pysarenko

“The project to support talented young people during the war, which we launched in March 2022, has concrete results. During this time, the project's participants have won more than 100 medals in the international arena and more than 1000 medals in national tournaments,” said Olympic Dreams initiator and patron Anatoliy Boyko. “We continue to work on organising new sports camps this season. However, winter is ahead, and it is important to find safe training conditions for our girls and boys during this period.”

Anatoliy Boyko, initiator and philanthropist of the Olympic Dreams project
Photo: Olga Pysarenko

After the traditional memorialisation of the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with a minute of silence and the official part, the young athletes showed the Austrian guests of honour a variety of Ukrainian embroidered shirts.

Photo: Olga Pysarenko

Genuine Ukrainian cuisine was served in Vienna by the Odessa restaurant, which is part of the BATONI Group. Marysya Gorobets hosted the diplomatic event.

At the gala event, words of gratitude were expressed to all the partners and organisations that contributed to the organisation of the camp in Austria and support the project on an ongoing basis. These include the National Olympic Committee in Kyiv Oblast, the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Judo Federation, and the city councils of Irpin and Bucha. 

Along with the project team, Oleksandra Novikova, Karen Balaian, and Oleksandra Starkova, Olympic Dreams was also represented by its ambassador, Major Olena Pavlova of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Olena Pavlova, Major of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Member of the Irpin City Council, Oleksandra Starkova, Vice-mayor of the city of Bucha, Secretary General of the Olympic Dreams project, and Vasyl Khymynets, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic of Austria
Photo: Olga Pysarenko

Special thanks go to the Austrian partners who provided the sports and entertainment infrastructure for the children: Kiwanis Club Gailtal, local schools (Dir. Susanne Kofler-Heyrowsky, Dir. Gernot Nußbaumer), School Community Association Hermagor, Alpine Club Obergailtal-Lesachtal, OSK Kötschach-Mauthen, Municipality of Kötschach-Mauthen, Dolomitenbank Osttirol-Westkärnten, Raiffeisenbank Kötschach-Mauthen, project coordinators from the Austrian side Rohe Tailoring, Martina Ranner UA civil help and many other generous people and organisations – LR Sara Schaar, Arno Arthofer, Lions Club Hermagor, Soroptimist Club Hermagor, Nassfeld Cable Cars, Gailtalbahn, NLW Tourism.

Anatoliy Boyko, initiator and philanthropist of the Olympic Dreams project, Vasyl Khymynets, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic of Austria, Franz Holzer, Governor of Kiwanis Austria, and Ingo Ortner, representative of UA civile aid Koetschach-Mauthen
Photo: Olga Pysarenko

And also personal thanks to Nataliia Rohe, Martina Ranner, and Ingo Ortner - reliable partners of Olympic Dreams in the picturesque land of Carinthia.

We would like to remind you that the Olympic Dreams international sports camps project has been implemented by “The Future for Children” Charitable Foundation for over two and a half years. During this time, 12 camps have been held in 7 countries: Israel, Greece, Cyprus, Spain, Slovakia, Japan, and Austria. Preparations for the new training camp have now begun.

Information and details:

Email: [email protected]

Website: maydit.com.ua/olympic_dreams

Facebook: @olympic.dreams.project

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